Newsroom

In New York, for the second time in two weeks, a grand jury failed to indict a police officer who killed a black man. Lecturer David Smith profiles the white backlash that has ignited in response to African American protests. Read article

As protests, rioting and stand-offs with police continue in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting death of an unarmed African-American teenager this week, honorary professor Edward Blakely looks at what makes this different from similar past stories, such as the Trayvon Martin case. Watch online

The 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin by Geoge Zimmerman was the result of expansive ideas of property rights created by gated communities, says honorary professor in urban policy Edward Blakely. Until these communities are held accountable for the actions of their residents, he argues, "stand your ground" arguments will continue to veil deeper racial and socioeconomic profiling. Read article

Florida man George Zimmerman was acquitted this week of the murder of black teenager Trayvon Martin. Lecturer David Smith says that the case fits into a long pattern through American history of the state failing to adequately protect African American lives. Listen online

A Florida jury was right to find George Zimmerman not guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin, says lecturer in US politics David Smith. Nonetheless, he tells Stan Grant, the case demonstrates how the criminal justice system fails African Americans as both victims and defendants. Watch online

Protests and outrage greeted the news that George Zimmerman had been acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin, a black teeanger shot in Florida in 2012. Lecturer David Smith says a guilty verdict was always unlikely in the trial. Watch online

The acquittal of George Zimmerman of murder and manslaughter charges over the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin has outraged civil rights activists and black communities across America. Lecturer David Smith says the case strikes at very basic conceptions of justice in the United States. Listen online

Against the backdrop of American history, the Trayvon Martin case was always going to be about race, says lecturer David Smith. But the subject or race was mostly avoided in the trial of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of Martin's murder this past weekend. Read article

In case that has inflamed racial tensions across the US, neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has been charged with the shooting of African American youth Trayvon Martin. Lecturer in US Politics Dr Rebecca Sheehan says that much like the OJ Simpson case, prosecutors will have to handle the racial element with care. Listen Online

Gated communities like the one in which Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was shot give their residents a false sense of safety, says Honorary Professor in Urban Policy Edward Blakely. These quasi-private spaces do not reduce crime, as their proponents claim, but create an "us verses them" mentality, shrinking the notion of civic engagement and allowing residents to retreat from civic responsibility. Read Online